Anastasiya Kochergina Costumes & Masks Anastasiya Kochergina

Evidence for Comic Costume Archaeological Terra cotta figures of comic actors Vase paintings of comic scenes Issue of color Issue of space Textual The plays themselves Anomalous costumes v. normal comic costume Verbal references to costume Aristotle’s Poetics

Λυσιστράτη: παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ τουτὶ τὸ κάλυμμα λαβὼν / ἔχε καὶ περίθου περὶ τὴν κεφαλήν… (Lys. 532-3) Βδελυκλέων: ἄγε νυν ὑπολύου τὰς καταράτους ἐμβάδας, / τασδὶ δ᾽ ἀνύσας † ὑπόδυθι † τὰς Λακωνικάς. (Wasps 1157-8): “Now come on [and] take off those accursed shoes, and hurry up and put on these Laconian shoes”

Costumes Costume Padded rump & stomach Male characters also wore a large phallus Masks Distortion of the face

Costume Manipulation (Part 1) Voluntary stripping Removal of costume by members of chorus Removal of clothing by characters in Lysistrata Removal of clothing as a sign of defeat ““ἡττήμεθ᾽: ὦ κινούμενοι / πρὸς τῶν θεῶν δέξασθέ μου / θοἰμάτιον, ὡς / ἐξαυτομολῶ πρὸς ὑμᾶς.” (Ar. Clouds 1101-4) (We are defeated: o [you] fuckers, by the gods, receive my cloak, for I desert to you)

Costume Manipulation (Part. 2) Involuntary Stripping Show of force; this normally occurs to unlikeable characters Peisetaeus orders a servant to take off his clothes in Birds (933-4, 947-8) Euripides orders the flute girl in Women at the Thesmophoria to take off some of her clothes (1181-3) Δικαιόπολις: οὐκ οἶδά πω: / ὑπὸ τοῦ δέους γὰρ τῶν ὅπλων εἰλιγγιῶ. / ἀλλ᾽ ἀντιβολῶ σ᾽ ἀπένεγκέ μου τὴν μορμόνα. / Λάμαχος: ἰδού. / Δικαιόπολις: παράθες νυν ὑπτίαν αὐτὴν ἐμοί. / Λάμαχος: κεῖται. (Ach. 581-6) Dikaeopolis: I don’t know at all. / For I might faint under the fear of your weapons. / But, I entreat you, take that horrible she-monster from me. / Lamachus: there. / Dikaeopolis: Now give your feather to me. / Lamachus: it is laid out.

Costume Manipulation (Part. 3) Addition of Clothing or Accessories A character is shown for the first time in their full costume Some objects can be added to their costume as an ‘overlaying’ of identity Acharnians: the snouts and hooves worn by the Megarian’s daughters Lysistrata: the veil and weaving equipment worn by the Proboulos

Costume Changes & Exchanges (Part 4) The costume itself is the vehicle for an exploration of status. Change in costume can be used to signify a change in status Exchanges Characters trade costumes in scenes that focus on dichotomized social roles Characters trying to create their changes in status themselves by way of costume (e.g. Dionysus in Frogs)

Bibliography Beare, W. and T. B. L. Webster. 1957. "Aristophanic Costume Again." Classical Quarterly 7: 184-5. Beare, W. 1959. "Aristophanic Costume: A Last Word." Classical Quarterly 9: 126-7. Compton-Engle, G. 2003. "Control of Costume in Three Plays of Aristophanes." American Journal of Philology 124: 507-35. Compton-Engle, G. 2015. Costume in the Comedies of Aristophanes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. English, M. C. 2007. "Reconstructing Aristophanic Performance: Stage Properties in "Acharnians"." Classical World 100: 199-227. Stone, L. M. 1984. Costume in Aristophanic Comedy. Salem, MA: Ayer. Wiles, D. 2008. “The Poetics of the Mask in Old Comedy”, in M. Revermann and P. Wilson (eds.), Performance, Iconography, Reception: Studies in Honour of Oliver Taplin (Oxford): 374–92.

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